Huizen en een molen aan een dijk 1900 - 1931

This is a sketch of houses and a mill on a dike by Willem Bastiaan Tholen, and you can see the process right there on the page, the lines searching for the form. Look at the marks, those smudges and soft pencil strokes, they give the work a real sense of atmosphere, like a cloudy day by the water. You can almost feel the breeze, right? The texture of the paper showing through the graphite adds another layer of tactility. Notice how the artist varies the pressure of the pencil, creating darker and lighter areas that suggest depth and shadow. I love the little scribbles, like next to the building, they make the work come alive. Tholen reminds me of James McNeill Whistler, particularly in his use of tonalism to capture a mood. Just like Whistler, Tholen wasn't interested in photorealistic depiction, but in creating a feeling. Art is an ongoing conversation, an exchange of ideas and approaches, and this piece really highlights that.